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Friday, April 30, 2010

I decided to have a quickie run this morning but when I got up my stomach was completely empty. Not good for running. I had this half of a banana before taking off. I ran 1.07 miles at a pace of 9:37. Not bad for a short run. Just enough to get my blood flowing in the morning.

Breakfast

After a long shower, I made this tasty bowl of Strawberry Banana Oats. In the mix

1/3 cup oats

2/3 cup water

1/2 banana

1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds

1/2 Tbsp. milled flaxseeds

shake cinnamon

splash vanilla extract

3 strawberries, sliced small

1 Tbsp. almond butter

I rehydrated with some plain old H20 and I made sure to take my Cleanse Tablets and a Women's One a DayNow Savannah and I are going to get our nails done for our recitals! I am looking forward to a little pampering.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

A little passed the halfway point into studying I couldn't resist those juicy oranges. I thought leaving them in the peel would help to avoid the juice mess that usually happens. I also lit my Oleander candle to set the study mood. It helped!

Dinner

Finally I finished and it was dinner time! Just in time too, Savannah rolled in and we decided to start watching the series The United States of Tara. My dinner is suspiciously similar to last nights but I don't care because it was so good! On the plate:

While I was studying I got an intense craving for the sun dried tomato and mushroom risotto that I made for my birthday last year. I thought I would use this black truffle infused oil to bring back that flavor. I mixed 1/4 Tbsp. into my rice but sadly it didn't do much if anything to the flavor :(

Dessert

About three episodes into The United States of Tara we took a dessert break. I went for Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet with mango and blueberries all mixed up.Now I am really to hit the hay! Is it possible to feel full and not full at the same time? My stomach feels full for sure but it also feels sort of hungry...I don't think I had enough protein in my dinner or something. I nixed the hummus tonight so I could have that black truffle oil. Hmm, I guess it just means I will have to have a hearty breakfast! I'm already mentally concocting.

My Mom has never liked cooking in the crazy, obsessive way that my Dad and I do. Getting creative in the kitchen just isn't her thing. Regardless, she always made sure there was food on the table for my brother and me. Growing up, we learned that Mom has her staples and we counted on the fact that she could always whip one up the same every time. (Some of my all time favs were her scrambled eggs, no sardine caesar salad, and chocolate chip cookies!) Though she doesn't give herself the credit, as far as I'm concerned many of those dishes could've had most people fooled into thinking she was a culinary whiz. When I came home for lunch this afternoon I looked at my bag of salad, I looked at my tupperware of strawberries, and I got an instant craving for my mom's Strawberry Spinach Salad. I did my best to replicate it in a Claire kind of way and what I came up with was:

large handful baby mixed greens

4-5 sliced strawberries

approx. 1/4 cup sliced cucumber

Dressing, 1 serving

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, unfiltered

1/2 Tbsp. agave

generous amount of fresh ground black pepper, or just to taste

small shake of paprika

I whisked it all together, topped my salad, and viola! Mom's is a little sweeter and she uses only spinach but it was enough to hit the spot for my craving. I think Mom would still like this version!

To go with my salad I arranged a po po platter of veggies with 2 Tbsp. of both eggplant hummus and roasted tomato salsa.So many veggies for lunch! I was sooo full after all that fiber.Eventually, though, I got into one of those modes where all my brain says is, "I have to have something sweet". There was no arguing. It was just a matter of what to choose so that I would be satisfied into sweet-tooth monster remission. I decided to go with the last slice of my banana bread topped with 1/3 cup vanilla soy yogurt and a shake of cinnamon. Hit the spot! I'm going to miss that banana bread though :(Now I really want to make a dent in the study guide for my midterm for Baroque music history. My parents are coming on Saturday afternoon, Savannah's recital is on Saturday evening, my recital is on Sunday evening, my parents fly out Monday afternoon, and the midterm is on Tuesday! See why I want to study ahead of time? Yeah, it would just be better for everyone. I'm not going to drive myself crazy though, I'm going to break it up like I would a workout. If I finish the list of terms then the reward will be: the first episode of season 2 of Six Feet Under!

For breakfast I decided to have something cereal-like: Good Morning Muesli. I first discovered this dish during my raw food week and it's definitely a keeper. It's so filling, uh! All it is:

2 small Fuji apples, sliced small

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/8 cup sunflower seeds

1/8 cup raisins

1 cup almond milk

It's also supposed to have flaxseeds but I only have milled and decided that wouldn't be so great.

It's very much like cereal, super crunchy, easy to eat with a spoon, great with milk. It satisfied my craving to eat a bunch of fruit in the morning for sure! I also had a mug of peppermint tea and my two Cleasne Tablets and a Women's One a Day.

I got a ride home after choir with Savannah and left my bike on campus so now I have to walk to class. I actually have a lesson at 11 so I better get scootin'! I have one class today. Did you catch that? One class! I am so stoked to have some downtime. I'm going to try to use that time wisely and study for the midterm that is two days after my recital (why???). I don't want to be thinking about it when I'm gettin' my diva on!

After class I decided to run downtown to Macy's to pick up my recital dress (I did pre-sale, saved 30 bucks!). I also hit Trader Joe's on the way back which did pretty quickly but still only left me 20 minutes to prepare and scarf down my lunch! I hate rushing when I eat :( My salad was

baby lettuce mix

snow peas

tomato

beets

mushroom soup rice with kidney beans

carrot sticks

celery

TJ's roasted tomato salsa

TJ's Eggplant Hummus

The eggplant hummus is only 35 calories for 2 Tbsp. Um, hellooooo hummus!

Snack

After work I went for this Coconut Cream Pie Lärabar. I was walking to choir when I took this shot.Man these things are like dessert! Now I remember by the Coconut Cream Pie is one of my favorites.

Dinner

For dinner I decided, even though I was pretty hungry, to put the time in and cook. I was inspired by Tina's salad the other day which had roasted sweet potato chips. I sliced one sweet potato into discs, laid them on a baking tray which I sprayed with cooking oil, and baked them for 20 min at 350F.Then I got to work making some cornbread! Somehow I ended up with two bags of cornmeal. Figured I may as well use them up! I got my recipe from Fatree Vegan Kitchen and used her recipe for Confetti Cornbread minus the confetti (bell peppers and corn). I also used gluten free baking mix because that's what I had! I am definitely sharing these with Miz Kelsey, my gluten free, roomie. Here's the drys,

and the wets. I combined the two and poured the batter into 11 individual muffin tins. They baked for 20 minutes at 400F.

Voila! Dinner is served! Roasted sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli, mushroom soup rice with kidney beans, cornbread muffin with expertly measured out vegan buttery spread, yellow mustard, and eggplant hummus. What more could a vegan ask for!?!?Not to toot my own horn, but when I try, I can really whip out a tasty dinner! I guess it's not hard when all you eat are veggies :)

Dessert

I was thoroughly enjoying myself while I ate dinner with an episode of Six Feet Under that I didn't want it to end. I decided to watch the last episode of season 1 with a fruity dessert. Here we have

There really is sorbet in there, I promise!See, there it is!By the time I finished season 1, it was bed time. I missed last nights post but I knew you would understand that sleep was more important! Hope you had a good night too!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

All I have to say is: Mission Accomplished! I woke up feeling sooo tired and not motivated to work out but I forced myself to change and get downstairs in front of the DVD player. Erin O'Brien kicked my butt again! I was happy though that I was able to do some of the parts that were too hard the first time.

After the DVD I tried this yoga routine from my Health magazine. It was tough and I'm not a yoga buff or anything so I shortened it a little. It was nice to stretch but painful! I am the most inflexible girl in the world :(

Breakfast

What would you say if I made an oatmeal, yogurt and strawberry parfait? Well, I did! First I measured out my walnuts to 15g or 1/8 cup. Yes, I actually measure.

In the oats:

1/3 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup water

1 banana

1 tsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. milled flaxseeds

shake cinnamon

1/8 cup toasted walnuts

I toasted the walnuts in the microwave for 45 sec. and a little later or another 25. The oats were piping hot so I actually stuck them in the freezer for 2 min. To make the parfait I used:

1/3 cup vanilla soy yogurt

4 strawberries, chopped small

I layered oats, yogurt and fruit twice, positioning the berries towards the edge so they would be seen from the outside. My portioning was a little off but it still tasted great!

The pretty dish just couldn't handle it all so I put the extras on the side. I also took my Cleanse tablet and Women's One a Day. Such a delicious breakfast! It looks sinful but it's totally guilt-free.Now I have to figure out what to do with this mop.

I even brought a little reading for my break! I love Mariska Hargitay.

Dessert

I also packed a dessert, naturally! A thick slice of the raw cashew coconut cookie bar and the other half of a banana. Together it tasted like a banana coconut pie! A winning combo for sure.

Now, in an effort to make myself completely healthy and ready for anything I am going to bed! I also want to get a workout in tomorrow before class. I'm thinking workout DVD and the yoga routine from the Health I was reading at break. I would run but it's lookin like rain and my path is surely muddy.

Finally we're at today! Last night I prepared a version of overnight oats that is more like yogurt oats. I probably should invest in a container of nut milk but I'm a little nervous that having milk around may become an invitation to eat cereal... I haven't had any cereal since my cleanse/raw diet and I am scared! Yes, I am scared of cereal and granola! I love them so much that sometimes I can't say no! I need to get my confidence and will power and self discipline and have a pow-wow with my granola loving self and get over it! hahaha In the mix:

1/3 cup soy yogurt

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 tsp. chia seeds

I let all that sit in the fridge over night and in the morning I topped it with

1/2 banana, sliced small

three strawberries, sliced small

mixed berries

1 Tbsp. almond butter

1/2 Tbsp. of Kelsey's raw flaxseed coconut banana pancake mix

Mixed it all up and viola!

The oats had absorbed the yogurt and were soft and mixture was thick and yummy. I think the chia seeds really make a difference. I also had a mug of peppermint tea and my Cleanse tablet and Women's One a Day.Lunch

After section and a productive practice sesh, I came home and made a killer lunch. In my salad I had:

1 cup chopped cabbage

1 tsp. vinegar

three small tomatoes

3/4 cup snow peas

1 cup cooked beets

rice from last night mixed with kidney beans

two salad tossers, I mean carrot sticks!

1 Tbsp. Tahini Dressing

I chopped the cabbage and poured the vinegar over the top to let it marinate a little while I prepared everything else. I thought this might help soften the cabbage and cut down on the amount of the dressing I needed to use. It was delish!I also had a Fuji with a Tbsp. of almond butter. I left it in the spoon for better scooping action!Later I had another seriously juicy orange. These babies are a mess but sooo sweet!

Snack

I whipped this post out in record time and now I am going to allow myself to veg out a little and enjoy this chocolatey Z bar. Remember these? Yeah, it's been a while!I've already done all my dishes, packed my dinner for my four hour work shift at 6, practiced my entire program, and blogged up to the present! Small accomplishments but I'm feelin' good! See ya later :)

Monday morning I got up early to finish that Ethics paper I so wonderfully put off till the last minute. Sometimes I actually work better under a deadline. (That doesn't mean I like it!) I perked up with this mug of peppermint tea.

Breakfast

For breakfast I had a beautiful bowl of fruit and yogurt. Fresh fruit is so pretty!

1/2 cup soy yogurt

1 slice banana bread

mixed berries

1 Tbsp. of Kelsey's raw flaxseed coconut banana pancake mix

I also made sure to take my Cleanse tablets and a Women's One a Day.This morning was my dress rehearsal for my recital. All that really means is that I get the chance to sing in the room that I will be performing in but it's exciting because the sound is totally different in there. It felt really good to be in that space and I am getting super excited about my recital. I decided to treat myself to something warm to drink: tea latte! I asked them to use mostly water and some steamed soy. I went with mint tea, my classic favorite.

Lunch

After classes I came home and made a crazy salad for lunch.

chopped cabbage

snow peas

tomatoes

cucumber

yellow onion

2 Tbsp. Tahini Salad dressing

The carrot sticks served double as snacks and salad tossers! Like my yellow carrot from the farmer's market?I also had ants on a log! I had been craving some ants on a log for a while now and I finally got 'em. It just brings me back!Later I ate this juicy orange. There is so much juice in these, they just fill me up!I bought too many lemons when I was on my cleanse so I decided to make strawberry lemonade something.I ended up putting everything in the blender and eventually transferring it to the ice cream maker to make Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet! The mix included

2 cups lemon juice

1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

10 Tbsp. Agave

4 dates

It came out pretty tangy and I probably should have cut the lemon juice with water but it's whatever!

Snack

On our way out to choir I smeared a slice of banana bread with almond butter. Ok seriously, this snack was dangerously good. And I mean dangerous! This is the kind of thing I could get addicted to so I better just be careful!

Dinner

After choir I was in the mood to cook. I came up with quite the feast if I do say so myself! On top we have Kabocha Squash with Roasted Beets, garlic and onions. The lower left is rice cooked in left over Raw Creamy Portabello Bisque topped with marinated portabello. And on the lower left is Tina's recipe for Roasted Broccoli. Doesn't this sound like a menu at a restaurant!?The roasted broccoli recipe does call for sugar which I was wary of but I wanted to taste what Tina had been raving about and also what I will be aiming to replicate without using refined sugar. I altered the amount of oil from 2 Tbsp. to 1 and the sugar from 1/8 cup to 3 tsp.Warning!!! If beets are not cooked completely they will be very bitter. I'm embarrassed to say but I didn't cook my beets enough. I should've known and just boiled them to finish them off but I was hungry and stubborn. I tried to doctor it a bit with some mustard. Next time will be better!

Dessert

For dessert I had a serving of the Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet, half of a raw cashew coconut cookie bar, and some fresh berries.Look at that yellow raspberry! So tasty.Being back on cooked food is good but I am still feeling the effects of the raw diet and I like it. What would I do without my veggies!?!?!

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About Me

My mom always said that if I were an Indian my name would be: Girlwhoplayswithfood. Excuse the political incorrectness of that, just know that statement says a lot about me. I admit I do play with my food on occasion but I think food should be fun! Though I’ve graduated from my days of hiding the gravy inside the potatoes and calling it "Mashed Potato Suprise", my attitude towards food is the same. Keep it fun, enjoy every bite, repeat. Since coming to college I've explored my freedom in more ways than one. Luckily this journey lead me to the realization that I'm the boss of what goes into my mouth and my body is a beautiful machine that knows exactly what it's doing. It's my job therefore to do the best I can to allow for optimum functioning. I began exercising and became obsessed with nutrition and fitness. Junior year of high school I stopped eating red meat and in my sophomore year of college I went vegan dun dun dun! Most people think vegan is extreme and well, it is! But it's not hard if you choose to make it convenient for yourself. My goal with this blog is to keep myself on track with staying healthy and motivated.